Homemade Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe
User Reviews
5
Homemade Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe
Description
This Avgolemono Soup begins with making a rich chicken stock by simmering a whole roasting chicken with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley for about an hour. After straining, diced onions, leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic are added to the stock and cooked until tender. Short-grain rice cooks in the broth until soft, imparting mild thickness.
Cooked chicken meat, finely chopped from the stock chicken, is returned to the pot. The soup is gently thickened and brightened by whisking egg yolks, whole egg, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice together, then slowly blending in hot broth to temper the eggs before adding them back into the soup. This technique results in a creamy, velvety texture with a distinctive lemon tang.
This soup is typically served hot as a comfort food or light meal. It pairs well with rustic bread or a simple salad. The recipe allows for variations such as using pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken, substituting rice with orzo, or adding other vegetables like turnips and potatoes.
Practical advice includes straining scum during stock preparation, refrigerating or freezing leftovers, reheating gently to avoid curdling, and the option to whip eggs in a blender for better froth. Portions of cooked chicken can be frozen for future meals.
Ingredients
For the Stock:
- 1 chicken whole roasting
- 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2 carrot roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalk roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaf
- 4 parsley sprigs
For the Soup:
- 1 gallon chicken stock
- 1 ½ cups short-grain rice
- 1/2 red onion peeled, small diced
- 2 leek small diced
- 2 carrot peeled, small diced
- 2 celery stalk peeled, small diced
- 2 garlic finely minced
- 3 egg yolk
- 1 egg
- lemon juice and zest of 2
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Stock: Add all the ingredients to a large stock pot along with 1 gallon of cold water.
- Put the stock pot onto the stove and cook over medium heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through. You may need to go and skim some of the scum from the top of the stock.
- Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer or chinois, discard the vegetables, set the chicken to the side, and put the stock back in the pot and back on the burner over low to medium heat.
- Soup: Add in the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic to the stock and cook for about 5-7 minutes and then add in the rice and cook until the vegetables are tender, and the rice is cooked, about 5-10 additional minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the meat from the cooked chicken and finely chop it. Add all the cooked chopped chicken or as little as half of it to the soup and turned the heat down to low. See note on leftover chicken.
- In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined and frothy.
- Add about a ½ cup of chicken stock in the soup to the bowl with the egg yolks and lemon and continuously stir it while pouring in the stock to help temper the eggs.
- Once combined, add egg mixture to the pot with the soup and gently mix it in using a spoon.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve it with optional chopped fresh parsley, or dill, or both.
Notes
- This soup can be made up to one day ahead and stored refrigerated before reheating.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to five days or freeze for up to three months; thaw overnight before reheating.
- Reheat slowly over low heat and adjust seasoning before serving.
- Using pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken is a convenient alternative; in that case, use prepared chicken stock instead of homemade.
- Orzo or other rice types can substitute short-grain rice; additional vegetables like turnips and potatoes can be added.
- Remove scum from the stock surface during cooking to keep the broth clear.
- Eggs can be whipped in a blender if they don't become frothy when whisked by hand.
- Cook rice separately if preferred and add it to the soup when serving.
- Any unused cooked chicken can be frozen for future use.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 10Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 461 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 461kcal | 23% |
| Carbohydrates | 43g | 14% |
| Protein | 27g | 54% |
| Fat | 19g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 4g | 24% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 8g | 40% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 152mg | 51% |
| Sodium | 627mg | 26% |
| Potassium | 785mg | 17% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 9g | 18% |
| Vitamin A | 5172IU | 103% |
| Vitamin C | 8mg | 9% |
| Calcium | 64mg | 6% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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